Cambodia tourism revenue up despite drop in visitor numbers

Cambodia tourism revenue up despite drop in visitor numbers

PHNOM PENH, Jan 28, 2026 — Cambodia received more than 5.5 million international visitors in 2025, down 16.9% from the previous year, but tourism revenue rose to an estimated $3.7 billion, official data showed.

According to a report by the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia welcomed about 5.5 million foreign tourists in 2025, compared with 6.7 million in 2024.

Visitors from Vietnam ranked first, with 1.22 million arrivals, down 8.8% year-on-year. Chinese tourists ranked second with 1.20 million arrivals, up 41.4%, while arrivals from Thailand ranked third at just over one million, down 52%.

Tourist arrivals from the United States fell 3.6% to about 200,000, while visitors from South Korea declined 20.6% to more than 150,000. Arrivals from Indonesia exceeded 140,000, while tourists from France topped 130,000.

The ministry said air arrivals rose 19.2% to 2.8 million, while land arrivals fell 37.8% to 2.6 million. Sea arrivals increased 6.3% to more than 980,000.

Despite the decline in visitor numbers, tourism revenue was estimated at $3.7 billion in 2025, up 3% from a year earlier, according to the National Bank of Cambodia.

The central bank said the tourism sector continued to recover in the first half of 2025, supported by destination diversification and expanded direct flight connections. However, growth slowed in the second half of the year following two rounds of armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand and the regional impact of online scam-related crime.